Spanish Influence in Puerto Rico Essays - Americas, Spanish Empire

Spanish Influence in Puerto Rico Sarah Osorio Imperialism and Nationalism Final project Sarah Osorio John Poon Imperialism and Nationalism 11-18-17 Spain's Control of Puerto Rico For most of its history, Puerto Rico has been controlled by an outside power, and its people oppressed. While Puerto Rico is currently a U.S. territory, Spanish colonialism has had a significant impact on the island's development and identity. The history of the island itself is proof of this fact, demonstrating each step Puerto Rico took to reach its current state. By examining the stages of Spanish control that Puerto Rico experienced, we can determine how each stage affected the structure of Puerto Rico. Before Spain invaded Puerto Rico, the native population known as the Tainos inhabited it. At the beginning of the 1500's, the Tainos were conquered by the Spanish and, after a series of revolution attempts, virtually disappeared from Puerto Rican life. Those that were left fled to the interior of the island, which was empty for the most part. This part of the island became a refuge for the people who had fled from the approaching Spanish conquerors. This was the first stage in Puerto Rico's development. Spain was the most dominant oppressor of Puerto Rico, and its occupation of the island resulted in many social and economic changes. The native people were marginalized, and Spain took over Puerto Rico in order to turn it into a productive colony. In addition to this, the presence of the Spaniards in Puerto Rico added a different ethnic group to the island's native population. When the official slave trade began in 1518, African slaves were added to Puerto Rico's mixed ethnic heritage. This is the reason for all of the different skin toned people in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico remained under Spanish control until 1898, but in the 1540's, Spain discovered silver mines in Mexico and Peru. Puerto Rico was virtually abandoned, becoming a frontier zone. Forced into labor, the peasants developed a passive, evasive attitude toward Spanish control. A reflection of this can be seen in Francisco de Valle Atiles article The Spiritual Life of the Jibaro. According to Valle Atiles, The speech of the peasant has the imperfections of those who never had any education; he still uses words that modern Spanish has forgotten, and the impurity and barbarism of his language are notorious. (Valle Atiles 95) This describes the life of the Puerto Rican peasant: poor, uneducated, and deemed inferior by their Spanish tyrants. However, the Puerto Rican peasants had pride in their own culture, and did their best to survive despite their oppressed status. They refused to be controlled by the Spaniards, even to the point of escaping the areas of the island most heavily developed by Spain and living in the uninhabited area. Between 1550 and 1560 Puerto Rico's position as the entry point to the New World began to attract people from countries other than Spain. For this reason, Puerto Rico became the target of many anti-Spain attacks. In 1598, England made an attempt to conquer Puerto Rico, only to be wiped out by an epidemic. San Juan became a Spanish enclave, and it was at this point that Puerto Rican society began to develop dualism. The people who fled to the interior of the island, the Spaniards living in San Juan, and those living in the coastal areas became more familiar with their own identities. In particular, those living in the interior of the island, known as jibaros, were characterized by their dislike of authority and desire for independence. Another aspect of Puerto Rican history that affected the development of the island's structure and identity was the emergence of the sugar and coffee industries. The sugar industry was the first market to emerge, and Spain went so far as to change their policies to encourage commerce on the island. With their new policy, foreign traders could trade with Puerto Rico, building a web of economic interdependence that had a huge effect of Puerto Rican economics. Spain wanted Puerto Rico to become a valuable asset in the sugar industry, and used this reason to tighten its grip on Puerto Rico. This also advanced the class divisions on the island. Although